The full video and transcript is available at the link I sent.
Tax cuts are absolutely the driver for the increased deficits. Revenue for FY2018 [1] came in around $200 billion lower than projected [2] prior to the tax cuts. Spending came in only $14 billion higher than projected. So, about 94% of the increase in deficit is due to the lower revenue from the tax cuts.
Yeah, no, that’s not how it works. We were projected to get about $3,531 billion in revenue in FY2018 prior to the tax cuts. We ended up with $3,329 billion. That’s already factoring in the ■■■■■■■ economy growth.
SS can pay full benefits until about 2033. Then, the benefits would be partially cut. That’s if we do nothing.
I understand your wise planning (I’m the same way), but politically, don’t buy into fatalism about it: doing that simply acquiesces to a long-term GOP/right wing strategy to weaken political support for Social Security. It leads to a cynical, Well, it won’t be there for me anyway! view, which makes it much easier to cut/end the program.
“Saving” SS a fake political problem, abetted by a lot of bad faith, coming largely (but not entirely) from the GOP/right for decades. It’s not a real mathematical/financing problem. You can shore it up by raising the payroll tax earnings cap, for example.
I also know that SS can easily be saved… but that would mean that people rich people would have to pay a little more… and as a nation we just can’t have that.
Exactly. Simply raising the cap pushes the full benefits horizon to like 2050 or 2060. Then, if we simply make it a progressive tax and increase it by a couple percentage points above the cap, we push full benefits to the infinite horizon or close to it.
They can continue to contribute if they wish. But I would throw them a bone. If the government allows me the option to get out of social security and gives me the option of a health savings account. I will be generous enough to give 1 percent of anything over 5000 dollars in that account.